Continuing the salad theme, here’s one I make often for myself for a snack. It takes mere minutes to make and is quite filling, so you can spend next half an hour without thinking about food. ;)
Nowadays, I make it with Kumato tomatoes that invaded the town (and I gladly surrender!), and if you haven’t yet tried these meaty, deep red-n-green, sweet and earthy round thingies, hurry to Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods and grab yourself a package. They are GOOD!
For one snack-craving person you will need:
- 1 large or 2 small tomatoes, preferably Kumato, sliced not too thinly
- 1 small or ½ large Haas avocado, peeled, pit removed, sliced the same as tomatoes
- 1 tsp Kalamata olive tapenade* or 3-4 Kalamata olives, quatered
- 1-2 fresh basil leaves, rolled into a tube and thinly sliced
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Salt and coarsely ground black pepper, to taste
Arrange tomato circles on a plate and top each with an avocado slice. Spoon a bit of tapenade or several pieces of Kalamata olives on top. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, black pepper and basil.
If you feel like it, arrange this salad on a bed of baby arugula.
*Tapenade is a good thing to have in your fridge. It’s easy to make, keeps for a long time, and goes great in salad dressings, pizza toppings, sandwiches fillings etc.
You will need:
- About 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
- 1 Tbsp capers
- 3-4 parsley stems with leaves
- 2-3 large basil leaves
- 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled
- 1-2 salted anchovies, optional
- Olive oil, to taste and to the right consistency
Put all the ingredients except oil in a food processor and pulse until the contents turn into a chunky mixture. Add olive oil in small portions and process until the mixture reaches smooth consistency of desired thickness. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate.
Keep in mind that the tapenade is a very concentrated condiment, so use it sparingly. If you want to soften its sharpness, puree some oil soaked sun-dried tomatoes together wth other ingredients.
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